f 


§BTg- 


:.} 


Library  of  the 
University    of    North  Carolina 

Endowed  by  the  Dialectic'and  Philan- 
thropic Societies. 


Cp^i'l-  K*lg- 


REPORT 


OF 


COL.  WALTER  GWYNN, 

CHIEF  ENGINEER  NORTH  CAROLINA  R.  R.  CO. 


TO  THE 


BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS 


AT 


MEETING  IN  SALISBURY,  JAN.  10, 1856 


,      U^J-,.     AU) 


Salisbarg : 

J.  J.  BRUNER,  PRINTER. 
1856. 


:.-•. 


: 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hil 


http://www.archive.org/details/reportofcolwalteOOnort 


OFFICE  N.  C.  R.  R.  COMPANY, 
Salisbury,  January  10th,  1856. 

Extract  from  Journal  of  Proceedings  of  Board  of  Directors : 

"  A  communication  was  received  from  Col.  Walter  Gwyn.v,  Chief  Engi- 
neer, making  a  Report  and  tendering  his  resignation — ■whereupon  it  was,  on 
motion,  unanimously 

Resolved,  That  the  same  be  accepted,  to  take  effect  on  the  completion  of 
the  track  of  the  Road ; — and  that  the  thanks  of  the  Board  being  due,  are 
hereby  tendered  to  him  for  his  able,  efficient  and  faithful  services  as  Chief  En- 
gineer of  the  North  Carolina  Rail-Road  Company ;  and  that  he  be  tendered, 
for  himself  and  family,  a  free  passage  for  life  over  the  Road." 

CYRUS  P.  MENDENHALL,  Sedy. 

"  Ordered"  That  the  President  cause  to  be  printed  1,000  copies  of  the  com- 
munication and  report  of  the  Chief  Engineer  submitted  to  the  Board  to-day, 
for  distribution,  and  that  100  copies  of  the  same  be  furnished  to  the  Chief 
Engineer." 


5 


\.-S 


REPORT. 


To  the  President  and  Directors 

of  the  North  Carolina  Rail  Road  Company. 

Gentlemen  — 

I  have  tlie  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  the  Railroad 
track  is  now  completed  with  the  exception  of  three  miles  of 
rails  to  be  laid,  which  work  will  be  performed  in  a  few  days. 
.But  for  the  delay  in  getting  the  iron  up  from  Portsmouth  and 
Charleston,  the  Road  would  have  been  finished  during  the 
past  year. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  unfinished  works  : 

1.  The  ware-house  at  Goldsboro\  built  conjointly  with  the 
Wilmington  and  Wei  don  Railroad  Company.  The  walls  are 
completed,  the  roof  framed  ready  to  be  raised,  the  tin  for  the 
covering  is  on  hand,  and  a  contract  has  been  made  for  put- 
ting it  on. 

2.  Engine  shed  of  brick  at  Goldsboro',  not  commenced  or 
contracted  for. 

3.  Engine  shed  at  Raleigh,  the  walls  erected  and  timber 
got  for  the  roof. 

4.  The  walls  for  the  Machine  shop  raised,  and  the  roof 
framed. 


6 

5.  Blacksmith  shop  and  Foundery,  walls  erected  and  timber 
for  the  roofs  contracted  for. 

6.  Carpenter's  shop,  Engine  and  Car  sheds  to  be  built, 
to  complete  the  arrangements  for  repairs  and  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Coaches  and  Engines  at  the  Company's  shops. 

7.  The  Steam  Engine  and  machinery  for  repairs  have  been 
contracted  for,  and  are  in  an  advanced  stage  of  construction. 

8.  Dwellings  to  be  erected  at  the  Company's  shops  for  the 
Superintendent  and  operatives. 

9.  The  timber  for  tire  ware-houses  at  McLean's  and  James- 
town station  gotten  out. 

10.  One  section  master's  house  framed,  nine  to  be  built  and 
timber  to  be  contracted  for ; — fourteen  houses  for  water-sta- 
tion and  ware-house  hands  to  be  built,  and  timber  to  be  con- 
tracted for,  and  seven  wood  sheds  to  be  built. 

11.  A  passenger  and  locomotive  shed  to  be  built  at  Char- 
lotte. 

12.  The  bridges  west  of  the  Eno,  including  the  bridges 
across  the  Eno,  are  not  yet  weather-boarded — a  contract  has 
been  made  for  the  plank.  The  ware-houses  and  wood-sheds 
are  to  be  painted,  and  it  is  desirable  that  the  bridges  should 
be  painted  as  soon  as  they  are  covered. 

13.  For  a  bridge  across  the  Haywood  road,  near  Raleigh, 
the  timber  has  been  contracted  for. 

11.  A  map  of  the  line  of  the  Railroad  is  in  progress,  shew- 
ing the  right  of  way,  the  dividing  lines  between  proprietors, 
and  a  plat  of  all  the  land  acquired  by  the  Company. 

15.  Tracks  at  the  Shops  and  Turn-outs  on  the  line. 

I  might  here  close  this  communication,,  for  there  is  little  I 
can  say  which  has  not  already  been  communicated  to  you  and 
is  generally  known  to  the  Stockholders.  But  there  are  some 
interesting  facts  scattered  through  the  reports  and  records"  of 
the  Company  which,  with  a  view  to  a  more  ready  reference, 
I  beg  leave  to  embody.  I  shall  do  so  with  the  utmost  brevity ; 
my  aim  being  nothing  more  than  a  bare  recapitulation. 


1.  The  Company  was  chartered  on  the  27th  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1849,  with  a  capital  of  $3,000,000 — the  State  agreeing  to 
subscribe  $2,000,000  when  $1,000,000  of  the  capital  stock 
should  be  subscribed  for  and  one-half  the  amount  paid  into 
the  hands  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  Company.  The  first  condi- 
tion, requiring  the  subscription  of  a  million  of  dollars  of  the 
capital  stock,  was  complied  with  in  1850,  and  on  the  11th  day 
of  July  of  that  year,  the  Company  was  duly  organized.  It 
is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  whole  amount  was  subscribed 
by  individuals,  without  the  aid  of  corporations,  the  largest 
subscription  thus  made  to  any  public  improvement  in  the 
Southern  country. 

2.  The  surveys  were  commenced  on  the  21st  day  of  Au- 
gust, 1850.  On  the  5th  day  of  May,  1851,  the  results,  with 
an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  the  Road,  were  reported  to  the 
Board  of  Directors,  when  the  location  was  decided  upon. 

3.  In  July,  1851,  the  graduation  and  masonry  was  let,  and 
on  the  11th  the  ceremony  of  "breaking  ground"  was  per- 
formed at  Greensboro',  by  the  Hon.  Calvin  Graves,  whose 
casting  vote,  as  Speaker  of  the  Senate,  for  the  Charter  of  the 
Company  has  won  for  him  the  appellation  of  "  the  pilot  who 
weathered  the  storm,"  although  in  doing  so  he  sacrificed  him- 
self with  Roman  devotion  to  its  fury.  This  interesting  cere- 
mony was  performed  in  presence  of  the  Slockholders  and  a 
large  concourse  of  strangers, — it  may  be  justly  regarded  as 
an  event  which  will  ever  be  memorable  in  the  annals  of  North 
Carolina — -an  era  which  marks  her  engaging  with  earnestness 
in  honorable  competition  with  her  sister  States,  in  the  great 
work  of  Internal  Improvement,  which  is  to  raise  the  State  to 
that  rank  which  the  advantages  of  her  situation  entitle  her 
to  hold.  The  earth  which  was  removed  was  deposited  in  a 
copper-box  to  be  sealed  up  with  the  Charter  of  the  Company ; 
the  names  of  the  original  subscribers  to  the  Stock,  the  news- 
papers and  coins  of  the  day,  with  a  scroll  containing  an  Ad- 
dress to  be  read  at  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  celebra- 
tion of  "  breaking  ground,"  when,  and  not  until  then,  the 
seals  of  the  box  are  to  be  broken.  From  this  memorable  day, 
the  11th  July,  1851,  there  lias  has  been  no  faltering  or  de-. 


8 

spondency ;  all  have  been  united  heart  and  hand  in  the  great 
■undertaking,  the  whole  State,  the  entire  people,  catching  the 
enthusiasm  which  it  engendered,  have  come  forth  in  their 
might  and  majesty,  battling  in  the  cause  of  Internal  Improve- 
ment, those  heretofore  signalized  as  laggards,  now  pressing 
forward  in  the  front  rank.  On  the  Southern  border  an  ex- 
tensive line  of  Railroad  has  been  commenced  ;  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  patriotic  and  lamented  Governor  Dudley,  "  Hank- 
ing South  Carolina,"  and  turning  Xorth  Carolina  trade  to 
Xorth  Carolina  ports.  The  extension  of  the  Xorth  Carolina 
Railroad  to  the  sea-board  at  Beaufort,  and  the  west  to  the 
Tennessee  line  is  in  progress — proving  what  I  may  be  par- 
doned for  not  resisting  the  gratification  to  say,  the  verity  of 
the  opinion  I  expressed  in  my  Report  to  you  of  the  5th  of 
May,  1851 — of  the  "  entire  feasibility  and  practicability  of 
extending  the  Xorth  Carolina  Railroad  into  Tennessee  and  to 
Beaufort,"  and  exemplifying  the  maxim  therein  laid  down  m 
connection  with  these  important  adjuncts  to  the  Xorth  Caro- 
lina Railroad,  that  "what  is  probable  in  theory  has  in  prac- 
tice always  proved  true." 

4.  Returning  after  this  digression  to  the  subject  before  me. 
The  Contractors  on  the  Xorth  Carolina  Railroad  were  all 
stockholders,  and  with' only  two  or  three  exceptions  entirely 
destitute  of  experience  in  the  work  they  undertook  ;  they  com- 
menced their  contracts  very  generally  in  January,  1852,  and, 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1853,  without  the  aid  of  a  single  dol- 
lar from  the  Treasury  of  the  Company  but  relying  entirely 
upon  their  own  credit  and  means,  their  united  labor  amounted 
to  $500,000,  which,  carried  to  the  credit  of  their  Stock  sub- 
scriptions, fulfilled  the  second  condition  of  the  subscription  on 
the  part  of  the  State,  and  brought  her  in  as  a  partner  in  the 
great  enterprise.  This  (coupling  the  subscription  of  a  million 
of  dollars  by  individuals,  chiefly  farmers,  and  working  out  a 
half  a  million  upon  their  own  resources)  is  an  achievement  un- 
precedented  in  the  annals  of  the  public  works  of  this  or  any 
other  country,  and  wherever  known,  (and  it  ought  to  be  pub- 
lished every  where,)  Arill  disabuse  the  public  mind  and  vindi- 
cate the  energy,  enterprise  and  industry  of  the  citizens  of  the 
State. 


9 

5.  I  have  repeatedly  said  publicly,  and  perceiving  no  im- 
propriety in  it,  I  avail  myself  of  this  occasion,  to  say  that,  in 
my  experience,  now  exceeding  thirty  years,  I  have  not  found 
on  any  public  work  with  which  I  have  been  connected,  a  set 
of  Contractors  more  reliable  than  those  with  whom  I  have 
had  to  deal  on  the  North  Carolina  Railroad,  and  none  with 
whom  my  intercourse  has  been  so  pleasant  and  agreeable. 

6.  I  consider  it  proper  here  to  remark  that  the  work,  though 
paid  for  partly  in  Stock — the  exact  ratio  of  which  I  am  unable 
to  state,  though  I  believe  it  may  be  put  down  at  about  two- 
fifths,  that  is,  two  of  Stock  to  three  of  cash  payments — -was 
originally  estimated  for,  let,  and  completed  at  cash  prices ; 
and  I  feel  fully  justified  in  stating  that  the  Road  has  cost  less 
than  if  let  wholly  for  cash — for  the  reason  that  in  cash  lettings 
at  the  South,  the  work  is  generally  taken  by  foreigners  or  non- 
residents, many  of  whom  are  mere  adventurers,  without  means 
or  credit,  who  cannot  command  an  adequate  supply  of  labor 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  work  ;  that  which  they  do  obtain  is  at 
an  advanced  price,  proportionate  to  the  distrust  of  the  parties, 
and  the  imported  labor  still  higher,  it  is  apparent  that  these 
causes  tend  greatly  to  enhance  the  cost  of  the  work,  which,  if 
not  provided  for  in  the  outset,  as  is  rarely,  I  may  say,  never 
fully  done,  must  lead  to  a  failure,  and  an  abandonment  of  the 
contract,  with  the  invariably  attendant  consequences  of  delay, 
and  increased  cost.  Now  when  the  work  is  executed,  as  was 
the  case  on  the  North  Carolina  Railroad,  in  small  contracts 
(with  the  exception  of  the  section  extending  from  Goldsboro' 
to  a  point  six  miles  west  of  Raleigh)  by  the  people  on  the  line 
of  the  Road — no  one  undertaking  more  than  he  can  conve- 
niently perform — there  is  no  unworthy  jealousy  or  rivalry  and 
no  distrust — friends,  neighbors  and  relations  far  and  wide  lend 
a  helping  hand, — all  from  one  end  of  the  Road  to  the  other 
being  engaged  in  the  same  cause,  with  one  common  object  in 
view,  become  united  in  sympathy  and  kindly  feelings  ;  what 
one  may  lack  in  labor  and  means  his  more  abundantly  sup- 
plied neighbor  will  provide ; — the  Road  furnishes  a  safe 
market  for  the  whole  country  adjacent, — the  Contractor  con- 
sumes his  own  provisions,  -works  his  own  horses  and  his  own 
hands — being,  as  it  were,  the  purchaser  of  his  own  surplus 


10 

products  and  the  hirer  of  his  own  horses  and  hands, — finding 
remuneration  and  ample  recompense  in  pay  received  for  his 
work.  It  follows  then  as  a  necessary  consequence  and  it  must 
appear  obvious  to  every  one,  that  the  native  Contractor,  resi- 
dent on  the  line  of  the  Road,  and  adjacent  thereto,  can  work 
for  a  less  price  than  non-residents  of  the  State,  who  would 
have  to  import  foreign  labor, — and,  if  white  labor,  as  in  all 
probability  it  would  be, — would  cost  more  than  slave  labor, 
besides  not  being  so  effective  (in  the  Southern  country)  by  at 
least  thirty  per  cent.  My  own  experience  and  observation, 
sustained  by  that  of  skilful  and  experienced  Contractors,  fully 
justifies  me  in  making  this  comparison  and  ratio  between 
white  and  slave  labor  in  the  South.  I  therefore,  have  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  the  Xorth  Carolina  Railroad,  built 
as  it  has  been  in  small  contracts,  at  the  Engineer's  estimate, 
by  citizens  of  the  State  residing  on  the  line  of  the  Road,  with 
the  native  labor  of  the  State — has  cost  less  than  if  paid  for 
wholly  in  cash  under  the  system  of  public  lettings  to  the  low- 
est bidder.  The  result,  however,  will  be  otherwise  when  the 
work  is  let  in  large  contracts  for  payments  partly  in  Stock, — 
and  for  the  simple  reason  that  one  man  cannot  hire  a  large 
force  as  cheaply  as  twenty  or  thirty  Contractors  scattered  along 
the  line  of  the  Road  residing  in  the  vicinity  where  the  hands 
would  be  employed, — nor  can  he  procure  his  supplies  as 
cheaply  ;  experience  has  fully  proven  this  every  where — and 
I  could,  but  that  it  might  be  deemed  invidious,  cite  examples 
quite  familiar  to  many  in  the  State. 

7.  In  relation  to  a  comparison  of  the  estimated  and  actual 
cost  of  the  Railroad, — in  lieu  of  any  observations  or  collating 
of  my  own, — -I  beg  leave  to  transcribe  a  statement  made  by 
Gov.  Morehead,  late  President  of  the  Company,  in  a  commu- 
nication to  the  last  General  Assembly,  which  is  as  follows : 

"  As  by  the  estimates  now  submitted,  it  will  appear,  that 
the  Road,  when  fully  completed  and  equipped,  will  cost,  as 
per  exhibit  A,  $1,235,300,  over  and  above  the  three  millions ; 
it  may  seem  to  those  who  do  not  understand  the  subject,  that 
the  original  estimate  of  $3,405,132,  made  by  the  Chief  Engi- 
neer and  adopted  by  the  Board,  was  wide  of  the  mark,  and 
erroneous  in  its  calculations. 


11     / 

"  If  any  such  impression  be  made,  it  is  due  to  the  Chief 
Engineer,  and  to  the  Board,  with  whom  I  had  the  honor  to 
act  in  adopting  the  first  estimate,  that  it  be  removed.  A 
short  examination  of  the  subject  will  excite  surprise  at  the 
accuracy  of  the  first  estimate. 

"  That  estimate  was  made,  to  ascertain  what  sum  would  be 
required  to  construct  the  Road,  and  fairly  put  it  in  operation, 
and  the  Chief  Engineer,  after  estimating  that  the  Roadway 
would  cost  $3,165,332 — the  work-shops  and  fixtures  $100,- 
000 — proceeds  to  say  :  '  The  number  of  Locomotives  and  their 
trains  depend  of  course  entirely  on  the  amount  of  business, 
and  may  be  increased  as  the  wants  of  the  Company  require. 
It  is  not  usual  to  embrace  in  the  original  estimates  and  charge 
to  capital  more  than  barely  sufficient  to  put  the  Road  into 
operation ;  and  with  inconsiderable  additions,  carry  it  through, 
and  enable  it  to  do  the  business  of  the  first  year.  With  this 
restriction,  I  submit  the  following  estimate,  viz  : ' 

"The  Engineer  then  estimates  for  ten  Locomotives,  six  pas- 
senger, four  baggage  and  eighty  burthen  cars,  at  $139,800 — - 
which  sum,  added  to  the  two  preceding  sums,  gives  $3,105,132 
for  the  Road-way,  equipment  and  workshops. 

"The  estimates  now  presented  to  you  are  intended  to  show 
what  sum  will  be  required  to  complete  the  Road,  all  necessary 
buildings  and  appendages,  and  to  equip  it  in  a  style  commen- 
surate with  its  importance. 

"  By  these  estimates  the  entire  cost  will  be  $1,235,300,  (be- 
ing the  whole  amount  contained  in  exhibit  A,)  which  is 
$1,235,300  over  and  above  the  three  millions  already  sub- 
scribed. 

By  exhibit  A,  it  will  be  seen  the  motive  power  yet  to  be 
contracted  for  amounts  to  the  sum  of  $289,600 

By  reference  to  the  accompanying  printed  Report, 
at  page  21,  will  be  seen  the  motive  power  already 
contracted  for,  and  the  most  of  which  is  already 
received,  which  may  be  put  down  at  a  cost  of  221,150 

Thus  making  the  motive  power  cost  $510,750 


12 

Cost  of  motive  power  brought  forward,  $510,750 

Deduct  estimate  for  motive  power  in  first  estimate     139,800 

The  increase  for  motive  power  is  $370,950 

To  this  may  be  added  the  estimate  for  houses,  for  over- 
seers and  hands,  which  might  be,  but  ought  not  to 
be  dispensed  with,  viz  :  20,000 

Also  may  be  added  at  least  the  sum  of  $20,000,  ren- 
dered necessary  in  the  estimate  for  additional  sheds 
for  Locomotives  and  Coaches  20,000 


Thus  we  have  the  sum  of  $1:10,950 

contained  in  the  present  estimate,  which  was  not  intended  to 
be  estimated  for  in  the  first, 

"  The  extraordinary  rise  in  the  price  of  iron  since  the  first 
estimate,  could  only  have  been  seen  with  a  prophetic  eye. 
Of  the  twenty-three  thousand  tons  bought  for  this  Eoad, 
5,000  tons  were  purchased  before  the  rise,  and  18,000  tons 
since,  at  an  enhanced  price  of  at  least  $22  per  ton,  making 
the  cost  for  iron  at  least  $396,000  more  than  was  anticipated. 
Add  this  sum  to  the  foregoing  sum  of  $410,950,  and  we  have 
the  sum  of  $806,950,  which  being  deducted  from  the  present 
estimate  $1,235,300,  leaves  $3,428,350.  Deduct  from  this  the 
first  estimate  of  $3,405,131,  and  the  sum  of  $23,218  is  left  as 
the  discrepancy  as  to  the  cost  of  the  Roadway,  between  the 
first  estimate  made  before  the  first  shovel  of  earth  was  re- 
moved, and  the  second  estimate  now  made,  when  most  of  the 
work  is  executed.  And  here  let  it  be  remarked,  the  price  of 
labor  and  provisions  have  nearly  doubled  since  the  first  esti- 
mate was  made." 

8.  I  would  say  in  addition  to  the  above  statement,  that  a 
change  was  made  in  the  location  near  High  Point  after  the 
publication  of  the  estimate,  which  involved  an  expenditure  of 
$12,000,  compensated  for  by  a  saving  of  half  a  mile  in  dis- 
tance— and  the  expense  of  passing  through  the  towns  on  the 
line,  exceeded  the  original  estimate  for  expenditures,  which 
could  not  be   foreseen,  by   the  sum  of  $18,500 — making  the 


13 

sum  of  $30,500  not  embraced  in  the  estimate ;  from  which 
subtract  $23,218,  reported  by  Gov.  Morehead  as  the  excess  of 
cost  over  the  estimate,  and  we  have  $7,282  in  favor  of  the 
original  estimate.  That  is,  the  actual  cost  falls  short  of  the 
estimated  cost,  $7,282.  And  I  am  happy  to  have  it  in  my 
power  to  say  from  a  knowledge  of  the  expenditures  which 
have  been  made,  and  those  now  to  be  made — that  the  esti- 
mates submitted  by  Gov.  Morehead,  as  stated  in  the  above 
extract  from  his  communication  to  the  General  Assembly,  will 
prove  amply  sufficient  for  the  completion  of  the  Railroad, 
with  all  its  buildings  and  equipments. 

9.  The  ready  response  of  the  General  Assembly  to  the  ap- 
plication of  the  Company  for  an  additional  subscription  of  a 
million  of  dollars,  is  worthy  of  record  and  all  commendation. 
The  capital  Stock  of  the  Company  is  now  $4,000,000 — the 
State  owning  three  millions  and  individuals  one  million. 

10.  For  my  views  in  regard  to  the  organization  for,  and  the 
management  and  "[working "  of  the  Railroad,  I  beg  leave  to 
refer  you  to  the  "  Regulations  and  Instructions  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Transportation  Department  and  the  Running  of 
trains,  &c, — prepared  by  the  Chief  Engineer  and  adopted  by 
the  Board  of  Directors  on  the  21st  of  September,  1854,"  and 
to  my  communications  to  the  Board. 

I  would  earnestly  recommend,  as  the  result  of  my  observa- 
tions for  a  long  period,  that  the  Company  adopt  a  low  rate  of 
speed  for  their  passenger  and  freight  trains.  If  there  is  any 
one  proposition  in  Railway  economy,  and  there  are,  I  assure 
the  Board,  but  few,  clearly,  fully  and  practically  demonstrated, 
it  is  the  economy  of  low  speeds ; — though  the  precise  differ- 
ence between  the  cost  of  transportation  due  to  different  de- 
grees of  speed  has  not  yet  been  ascertained,  it  is  usually  esti- 
mated that  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  track  and  machinery  is 
equal  to  the  squares  of  the  speeds  at  which  the  trains  are  run. 
The  depreciation,  then,  at  20  miles  per  hour,  would  be  four 
times  greater  than  at  10  miles  per  hour — that  is,  the  wear  and 
tear  would  be  as  4  to  1.  The  speed  upon  every  Road  should 
be  adapted  to  the  amount  of  business.     To  the  neglect  of  this 


14 

rule  and  the  establishment  of  uniform  rates  of  speed  upon 
most  of  the  Railroads  of  the  country,  may  be  ascribed  the 
small  nett  earnings  of  many  of  them. 

11.  Having  a  due  regard  to  the  travel  and  freight  on  the 
iNorth  Carolina  Railroad  and  to  the  present  condition  of  the 
Road,  it  being  new,  and  the  winter  season  setting  in — with 
every  prospect  of  inclement  weather,  I  would  recommend  a 
speed  for  the  passenger  trains  of  16  miles,  and  of  the  freight 
trains  12  miles  per  hour;  which  would  require,  allowing  for 
stoppages,  16£  hours  for  the  run  of  the  mail  train-  through 
the  line. 

12.  The  Road  has  been  opened  from  time  to  time,  as  it 
reached  the  several  stations  in  its  progress  both  from  the  East 
and  West.  The  receipts  fully  sustain  the  expectations  of  its 
friends  and  verify  their  predictions  in  regard  to  its  prospective 
income  and  profits. 

13.  The  "  rolling  Stock"  on  the  Road  consists  of  six  passen- 
ger, eight  freights  and  two  gravel  locomotives,  seven  passen- 
ger, four  baggage,  eighty -four  box,  sixty-six  platform,  and  twen- 
ty gravel  cars.  Some  additional  locomotives  and  passenger  Cars 
will  be  required  during  the  ensuing  year.  The  locomotives  .were 
all  obtained  from  the  celebrated  works  of  Messrs.  Richard  ]STor- 
ris  &  Son.  The  working  parts  are  all  on  the  same  pattern. 
The  workmanship,  style  and  finish  fully  sustain  the  high  repu- 
tation of  the  builders.  I  would  earnestly  recommend,  no 
change  from  the  present  plan  of  locomotives,  with  the  single 
exception  of  the  link  motion  for  the  passenger  locomotives,-- 
and  as  an  act  of  justice  due  to  the  fidelity,  integrity,  and  libe- 
rality of  Messrs.  Richard  Norris  &  Son,  as  well  as  on  account 
of  the  interest  I  feel  in  the  success  of  the  Road,  I  would  ad+ 
vise  that  all  future  orders  be  given  to  them.  It  will  be  the 
best 'and  only  means  of  ensuring  similitude  in  all  parts  of  the 
machinery,  which  will  result  in  a  great  saving  to  the  Company. 

14.  From  the  advanced  stage  of  the  Road,  I  presume,  and 
supposing  you  may  also  consider  that  I  have  complied  with 
my  engagoments  to  the  Company,  and  may  now  with  pro- 
priety surrender  the  work  into  your  hands,  I  respectfully  ten- 


15 

der  you  my  resignation  of  the  office  of  Cliief  Engineer.  In 
taking  my  leave,  as  a  citizen  of  the  State,  and  an  officer  of 
the  Company,  I  beg  permission  to  tender  my  thanks  to  the 
late  and  present  Executive  of  the  State,  to  your  predecessors, 
to  yourselves  and  to  the  Stockholders,  for  the  many  manifes- 
tations of  confidence  towards  me,  and  to  offer  my  good  wishes 
for  the  prosperity  of  the  Company. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  very  respectfully, 

your  most  obedient  servant, 


WALTER  GVYM, 

Chief  Engineer  N.  C.  R.  E. 


Raleigh,  January  Sth,  1856. 


"NJVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00042093705 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


6i 


THIS  TITLE  HAo  BEEN  w.iCROFiLMED 


